


I'll crawl home to her

by Princex_N



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Light-Hearted Ending, Memories, Past Character Death, Sad, Slow Dancing, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 04:53:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8651725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princex_N/pseuds/Princex_N
Summary: She walks up to him, swinging her hips in time to the music and smiling, "Hey there, big guy. Mind if I have this dance?" 
 He smiles back at her. "Pretty lady like you?" He asks, "Wouldn't mind at all."





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Hozier's [Work Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH7bjV0Q_44).  
> i get so fucking emotional over the Burnsides, god.

_The music in the room is heavy and rich, and Magnus is having a hard time speaking over it, but he doesn't mind it. It's a good song. He's talking to Steven about a project he has in the works, one he's hoping to take to competition. He's pretty sure that, if he makes it right, he could win._

_She walks up to him, swinging her hips in time to the music and smirking, "Hey there, big guy," she says, her voice pitched low, "Mind if I have this dance?"_

_He smiles back at her and excuses himself from the conversation, setting down his cup. "Pretty lady like you?" He asks, "Wouldn't mind at all."_

_She laughs, her long hair brushing against the back of his arm as they walk together towards the open space in the middle of the room. He puts his hand on the small of her back, one of her hands rests on the back of his neck, their other hands are pressed tight to each other. The music is sweet and slow and they dance, pressed against each other, and he still can't get over how_ nice _it is to have her this close to him. Still, t_ _hey're only out there for a few minutes before Magnus starts tripping over his own feet._

_She throws back her head and laughs, and the sound is so startling and bright, cutting through the loudness of the music with ease, and Magnus is so in love. "You can do all that fancy footwork on the battlefield but not the dance floor?  You need to practice! You're going to have a hard time impressing pretty girls if you can't dance without tripping."_

_"Well I mean, I've already got the prettiest girl out there, right?" He asks, leaning his face close to hers, "What have I got to worry about."_

_"Flattery won't get you anywhere," she says sternly, but she's smiling."You don't learn to dance, you might just lose me."_

_He pulls back and laughs, and she's grinning up at him, her brown eyes wide and teasing, and he says, "Looks like I'll have to practice then." He looks at her and she is so incredibly gorgeous, all on her own, and the lighting in the room only accentuates it, "I don't know what I'd do without you."_

_-_

Magnus stops moving the moment he hears the door click open, but judging by the look on Merle's face, he hadn't stopped fast enough. 

"What are you doing in here?" The dwarf asks, his beard hides most of his goofy grin, but Magnus can still see it. 

And Magnus wants to goof back, but there's a heavy knot in his throat and his eyes are stinging, and he doesn't know how to answer. "I was p-" he stops. He doesn't know what to say. Practicing? Pretending? He doesn't know anymore. 

Merle seems to understand, his face softens. He steps fully into the room, closing the door behind him. His voice is on the border of joking and reminiscent as he says, "I used to dance like that with my wife."

Magnus crumples a bit, "Me too," he replies, and ignores the way his voice cracks. 

They've never really talked about their pasts with each other before. Magnus doesn't even know what they _could_ say to each other. 

He doesn't know why he keeps practicing. He'll never be able to dance with her again, and he doesn't think that he'll ever be able to dance with another woman either. It just feels wrong to stop. He had been practicing before he'd left, and he had planned on inviting her to dance when he'd come back a winner. 

He'd never gotten a chance to show her that he'd improved.

"Well," Merle says finally, approaching the human slowly, "Dancing alone is no way to dance." 

Magnus chokes on a laugh, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "You offering?" 

"You see anyone else around here?" Merle asks gruffly, coming to a stop in front of Magnus and then looking up irritably. "You're too damn big." 

They give it their best shot, but Merle isn't the best dancer around and the height difference between them makes it nearly impossible. Magnus can't stop laughing, because it's just flat out ridiculous, and he can only imagine how fucking goofy they look, and Magnus doesn't actually know how long they've been fucking around when someone else opens the door. 

"What the fuck are you morons doing?" Taako asks, standing with his arms crossed over his chest indignantly, "How're you going to be in here dancing with no fucking music? _And_ without inviting me? For shame guys, I'm going to get Johan or something, you fuckers better not run off before I get back." 

Merle and Magnus share a look, and then burst into a fresh wave of laughter. Magnus sets Merle down to give the older man a break before Taako shows up again, and they're quiet for a while before Magnus says, "Thanks." 

Merle looks over at him, "Don't mention it," he says, voice stern, and Magnus snorts. Then his expression softens, "But... Anytime." 

Magnus isn't sure, but he thinks that he just might take the dwarf up on the offer. 

**Author's Note:**

> i have a longer fic in the works, but wanted to get this one out before i lost it.  
> [my tumblr](http://www.princex-n.tumblr.com)


End file.
